From inside the flap

A suspenseful thriller. The seemingly unrelated disappearances of young, beautiful women comes to the notice of Detective Colter when Veronica Banes gives the police their first lead. The investigation leads them from New York City to Oregon, New Jersey and New Mexico; a countrywide manhunt for a cunning, sadistic killer. The police are aided by Martin Devlin, a psychic who falls in love with Veronica and vows to protect her.

Detective Colter continues with two more thrillers:

"Stalker" Columbia University students become the target of a deranged killer. One in particular, Dana Norton, is the target. As each attempt on her fails others must pay the price, until the near-fatal attempt on her father’s life.

"Murder on an Island" is a mystery of the murder of Helena Carleton. Her twin sister, Sophia, returns from Greece in time for the funeral, and aids the police in their search for the killer. What they find is not just a murder, but an international ring of thieves involved in the disappearance of a priceless gold Greek coin.

Detective Colter (Excerpt)

Book One -- Tanner

Chapter 1

When Jeffery’s mother went missing he was suspected of having something to do with it, but they couldn?t connect him with her disappearance. He had been coming to see Dr. Rheinhold for just over a year, and was ready to break away. His scholastic record was excellent and he excelled in math. He was all set for college; he was able to get several scholarships to Washington State University. Dr. Rheinhold sat patiently waiting for Jeffery Tanner to respond to his question.

"Jeffery you have been making great strides these past few weeks. More so than in the past year."

Jeffery looked at the doctor and wondered how it was so easy to get people to believe what he wanted them to believe. He knew he had charisma. Many people had told him so over the recent months, this made it easy to fool them. A glint of malice came into his eyes and disappeared before the doctor could see it.

"Jeffery," said Dr. Rheinhold. "This will be the last time I see you before you go off to college. I want you to know that you can call me if you need any help. Will you do that?"

?Yes, of course I will."

"How is your father doing?"

"Fine, doctor, he still will not have anything to do with me, but that’s okay. I?ll be leaving this week for Washington State and he has let me know how pleased he is that I am going."

I?ll show him, Jeffery thought. I?ll succeed and show him. After what he and mom did to me, I?ll show them. I took care of her and he knows it.

He could never remember a time without being in his mother’s bed, and the things she made him do. If he complained his father beat him with his belt. That happened a lot until he learned not to complain and just do what they wanted.

Then one day a year ago his father went to see someone about business a couple of towns away. Jeffery went to the shed and picked up the axe he had sharpened in anticipation of this moment. His mother was about a quarter mile into the wooded area in back of their home. She took the same walk every morning, same time, just like clockwork. He followed her. She was much smaller than he was now. He had grown taller and stronger in the past year. She reached to his shoulders; she was only about five feet two inches with faded blond hair. He came up behind her, she turned to see who was there; he struck her with the axe again, and again, and again.

He had already dug her grave not far from where they were, and dragged her body there and dumped her into it, along with his bloody clothing. Covering the grave and packing the soil down hard, Jeffery continued to camouflage the site. Afterward he removed as much as possible, all traces of blood, and covered the entire area with dead leaves. Pleased with being able to carry out his plan he returned home.

That evening, when his father returned home, he said, "Mom went out shopping this afternoon, Dad, she hasn?t gotten back yet."

"That woman does nothing but spend my money. When she comes home I?ll show her a thing or two."

Betty Tanner never returned home.

During the murder of his mother, he experienced something he never did before: sexual gratification. This he found exhilarating. He never had any desire to be with girls his own age, and wondered about that. However, he did feel some arousal when torturing cats, dogs, or any small animal that crossed his path. But never anything like the intensity he experienced when he killed her.